10 1/2 Types of Elevator Pitches

16 Feb 10 1/2 Types of Elevator Pitches

We love discussing elevator pitches, although they are rarely used in an elevator.
But what happens to elevator pitches when you’re working on different things? We thought it would be helpful to make a list of types of elevator pitches, hope it helps those of you who don’t fit into the standard elevator pitch group.

Generic Pitch Template
Answers the question: who am I?

I [verb] by providing [something unique] which [provides some good outcome] to help [population.]

The Need a Job Now Pitch
We don’t recommend using this one all the time-most people come off as desperate. The key to nailing this one, is to immediately focus on yourself as an expert.

I’m a [job title] with [amount] of [experience] in [industry] looking for a change, if you know of someone who works in [industry]

Interdisciplinary/Jill of All Trades
This will be a list-you’ll have juxtaposition and a lot of contrast, so play it up.

I’m a [job title] who [verb], and I have a side hustle of [descriptor] and I manage all of that while [other activities]
It can be nice to divide this into increments that people understand, like saying I spend 40 hours per week as an administrator, 20 hours per week painting and 100 hours per week raising hell on social media.

Selling Work Pitch
What’s in it for them? Are they brand new to your art? Are they the type of person who wants to buy your art? You only want to go into this pitch if it’s warm. The difference between cold calling (meaning you call a random number and ask if they want to buy your art) and a pitching to someone you know information about is crucial.
If you really want to pitch cold:

I’m a [job title] who is just starting to sell my work, I’m trying to figure out how to talk about it in a way that’s authentic, do you have any advice?

Warm sales pitch:

I’m a [descriptor] who just completed [type of work] and am getting it out to [population] would you be interested in viewing this work?

Talking about Your Work/Artists Statement Pitch

I want to talk about my [creative work]. My work is based on [adjective: light, sound, etc] my themes are [theme] and [theme], my favorite artists that I look to for in inspiration/am aligned with are [blank] and [blank]

No secrets here, from those of you in academia (or just in the art field) it’s tough to know how to talk about your work, but when you relate it to another work, it gives an entry to the conversation.

The Functional Pitch

While my full time job is still [at company], I’m putting my [energy, time, money I usually spend on lattes] into my [creative pursuit] and I need some help.

This works best if you’re specific about what kind of help you need. We haven’t seen it used effectively for a new job, so beware about combining your pitches here!

The Problem Solver Pitch
Pretty self explanatory.

I can solve [problem] because I have [unique skill] and will provide [outcome of solving problem]

Explaining the Confusing
This works best if you acknowledge the humor in it. What you’ve never met a hedge fund manager who creates paper crafts on etsy before?

[Acknowledge: this is strange] because I’m [insert unique identifier], a [descriptor] who also [verbs].
Pause to let the person your speaking to ask questions-that’s why this one is quite short.

The Vision Statement

I see [crazy idea here] working with [existing infrastructure] and I’d love to make that happen, can I work with/for you?

Silicon Valley Type Funding Pitch
We’re not the experts here, and we hope to send some resources to you soon, but we wanted to list this here as this can fall into the generic pitch, but often has more complex elements-the kind of thing where you demonstrate (with numbers) how you can make money doing what you’re doing.

Follow Up Pitch
To often people pitch, and then never follow up, so we are hoping that thinking of it as a ‘pitch’ will incite more people to seal the deal! We can’t count this as a full pitch, so this is the 1/2 listed in our title.
It is so important to ask questions and ensure that your pitch isn’t the only thing that you say to other people.

Can I [call to action]?
Take you out for coffee?
Help you [provide service] for [population]?
How can I help you?
How can I follow up with you?
Remember when we were speaking and you said [something you said], maybe we should delve deeper into that, would you be interested in correspondence?

Things to Try if You’re Stuck:

What is a compliment you can give yourself that nobody else on this planet can have? Anybody can be ‘good with peanut butter’ how can you make it specific to you?

How can you finish the sentence “I am the only[——]”

Who is the last person who you remember how they introduced themselves? Could that tactic work for you?

Pitches are conversations-when was the last time you had a conversation where you explained your work to someone-what made it different?

based in Westchester, NY and the Hudson Valley but serving creatives everywhere.
Email: info@artisthood.com